FDA, CDC, and Costco warn consumers to avoid Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda cheese

1.1268619167.costco-cheese-blocks.jpg* Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda cheese, (Costco item 40654) offered for sale and in cheese sampling events at Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) locations is preliminarily linked with an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections.

* As of Thursday, November 4, 2010, 25 persons infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7have been reported from five states since mid-October. The number of ill persons identified in each state with this strain is as follows: AZ (11), CA (1), CO (8), NM (3) and NV (2). There have been 9 reported hospitalizations, 1 possible case of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and no deaths.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention join Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco), in warning consumers not to consume Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda cheese (Costco item 40654), as this cheese may be associated with an outbreak of E.coli O157:H7 infections. The cheese was available for sale, and free samples were offered for in-store tasting at Costco in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada.